Signs & Symptoms of Anorexia in Middle-Aged Women
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by extreme emaciation and anxiety about gaining weight. Dr. Donald McAlpine, a psychiatrist from the Mayo Clinic, claims that a middle-aged woman with anorexia nervosa is more likely to want help with her disease than a younger woman. Armed with the facts, you may finally be able to get her the help she needs and does not know ask for.
Constant Exercise
Just because a woman enjoys a little exercise every day does not mean she is suffering from an eating disorder. However, taking several runs a day, doing leg presses every time she is faced with standing still and randomly dropping to the ground once an hour for 20 sit-ups is pushing the limits of normality. Also look for signs of self-judgment. Weighing herself constantly, fanatically checking the mirror or frequently measuring the thickness of her thighs may indicate a problem.
Assessing Everyone
According to an article posted by Johns Hopkins Medicine, a cultural obsession surrounding weight has led women to believe that remaining thin will keep them young, causing increased cases of middle-aged women with eating disorders. Women susceptible to this pressure to look a certain way will often comment on everyone's appearance. If you are concerned that a woman may have anorexia nervosa, have a conversation with her in a public place. If every other uttering is about how fat, thin or beautiful another woman is, there is a clear preoccupation with appearance.
Food Obsession
When you look at her frail frame cooking up a meal fit for a king, you may wonder how you ever suspected her of having anorexia nervosa. However, many middle aged anorexic women love to cook huge meals and go grocery shopping frequently. When a woman is starving herself, she often becomes obsessed with food in much the same way any person who is starving would think only about food. Additionally, a woman with anorexia will place a ritual around eating. If she eats in your presence, she may have to eat in a certain way or in a special place. If this pattern is altered, she will claim she cannot eat, and that she's not hungry.
Major Life Stressor
When anorexia emerges, or reemerges, in middle-aged women it is often the result of a major life change. When other people would experience symptoms of depression, a woman with body dysmorphic disorder, or a preoccupation with appearance, may resort to extreme and restrictive eating habits. These life changes may include relationship troubles, parenting issues, empty-nest syndrome, death of a parent, problems at work or financial struggles.
Physical Changes
A middle-aged woman with physical symptoms is often able to brush off the signs of anorexia nervosa with claims of menopause. However, if other signs of anorexia are apparent, physical changes should be watched for, such as hair loss, osteoporosis, yellowing of the skin, absence of a period, feelings of always being cold, fine hair covering her body and constipation.
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